HELP! Feedback needed on a remix I need to submit ASAP!!

[Methlab]

In comparing it to other mixes from people's soundclouds I hear in this forum, your kick is not as clear in these speakers (pc speakers with decent bass response) and the mix/track is not that exciting. Kind of boring to be honest and maybe too chill. That is just my opinion. I prefer a few more elements to a track. I have no idea what this project is for and I am assuming you are doing paid work here, so you just need to send it to your client and see what they say.

I personally figure out what the client wants before I touch knobs or pull out my bass. It's a much better way to work for me. Posting in the 11th hour on a forum filled with tons of different opinions may very well drive you mad unless you are just looking for some quick validation.

[Yoozer]

You should be able to whittle this down to 5 minutes and some.

Yeah, doing more with the vocal material would've been a bit more exciting. I know this is supposed to be dubby, but still.

[AJ Reynolds]

i would like to hear it with less of the vocals. it seems a bit busy at times but you probably could lose 16 or 32 bars somewhere if you did.

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Methlab

In comparing it to other mixes from people's soundclouds I hear in this forum, your kick is not as clear in these speakers (pc speakers with decent bass response)

Thanks for having a listen.

Both the kick & the bass are virtually ALL sub-bass.... So I can well imagine how they would not come through on 'PC speakers.'

Originally Posted by Methlab

the mix/track is not that exciting. Kind of boring to be honest and maybe too chill. That is just my opinion. I prefer a few more elements to a track. I have no idea what this project is for and I am assuming you are doing paid work here, so you just need to send it to your client and see what they say.

Useful advice... As I say, my main fear is it might drag on too long.

Much of the track's dynamic, as well as raison d'etre is all in the sub though... so some of that might be lost on your monitoring.

Originally Posted by Methlab

I personally figure out what the client wants before I touch knobs or pull out my bass. It's a much better way to work for me.

Well they just wanted some more underground/dance remixes done by our label... So I was aiming at making a contemporary dubby/disco/house style track.

Originally Posted by Methlab

Posting in the 11th hour on a forum filled with tons of different opinions may very well drive you mad unless you are just looking for some quick validation.

I would have posted sooner had I had something... but I kept restarting the damned thing. At the end of the day, I'm not going to submit it until I'm happy(ish).

Lots of people here have monitoring vastly superior to mine, and ears vastly superior to mine... especially since mine are currently ringing from mixing too loud tutt

Also good to get an opinion on the arrangement. I can't make loud noise any more tonight because of neighbors, so I thought I'd get some outside opinions before I finish the track tomorrow.

[mike vee]

would love to hear a snare before 4 minutes

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

You should be able to whittle this down to 5 minutes and some.

Yeah, doing more with the vocal material would've been a bit more exciting. I know this is supposed to be dubby, but still.

Originally Posted by AJ Reynolds

i would like to hear it with less of the vocals. it seems a bit busy at times but you probably could lose 16 or 32 bars somewhere if you did.

... yeah, I think I definitely need to trim the fat.

[Simonator]

Does anyone think it would be a good idea to add the rhodes keys that almost where...

... or do you think that would kill the vibe of the track & make it too busy?

[AJ Reynolds]

Originally Posted by Simonator

Does anyone think it would be a good idea to add the rhodes keys that almost where...

... or do you think that would kill the vibe of the track & make it too busy?

the only thing i would think of adding is some strings.

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by AJ Reynolds

the only thing i would think of adding is some strings.

That's a nice idea

Do you mean some sustained soaring type of strings?

[Methlab]

Yeah more specific:

Bring in more elements a little quicker.

Add attack to the kick, thats what I meant to say. I don't expect to hear much boom in these speakers, but I have listened to insane amounts of tunage in them and know the balance pretty well.

I wouldn't dance to this track. I'd drink booze and hear it in the background of a chilled out DJ set at a more upscale bar. If that is what you are going for then it just needs a few more elements to it, more aggressiveness in the EQing, and more excitement in the arrangement (shorten it).

[Simonator]

Okay... so based on your feedback, my plan is to:

Cut about 1-2 minutes worth out, making the track progress much quicker.

Bring the snare in sooner.

Try out this 'strings' suggestion... I think this could make a nice development after I've dropped the snare earlier... maybe quite nasty, dissonant sustained strings.

Thanks for all the comments so far... though no-one besides Methlab has said much about the mix.
... To me it's obviously sounding decent as that's why I made it that way. Tried it at different volumes & in my headphones.
Does anyone else agree with Methlabs comments about the kick? For me this kick is huge & everything is sitting nicely around it.
Can anyone with some good monitoring offer any feedback?

[Frankie Soukal]

the 4 min mark is the strongest point in the song. its real nice. you have to base your track around that. Snare needs to come in way sooner and the song needs to be cut down for sure. Got to mix it a lil better too. Kick needs to be poppin a lil more. Use some subtle sidechain on the pad and HHs and tambourine loop. Rhodes wouldnt be bad, be subtle with it tho

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Frankie Soukal

the 4 min mark is the strongest point in the song. its real nice. you have to base your track around that. Snare needs to come in way sooner and the song needs to be cut down for sure. Got to mix it a lil better too. Kick needs to be poppin a lil more. Use some subtle sidechain on the pad and HHs and tambourine loop. Rhodes wouldnt be bad, be subtle with it tho

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Already there is a HUGE amount of sidechain ducking on the rhodes.

... There isn't a pad in the track, so not sure what you are hearing there?... only rhodes & vox.
I suspect it's the noise off the rhodes, which I HEAVILY f***ed with... again, that's already sidechained.

Also a pretty fair amount of sidechain comp applied to the tambourines & high percs (except the off-beat hats... which seems a little pointless to SC off the kick.).



I will take a look at letting that kick pop some more since both you & methlab seem to agree on this.
I've currently got a 6dB/oct low pass shelf from 6668Hz... so most likely just disabling this will help the kick pop through a little more whilst not taking up much headroom at all.
I guess somehow I like my kicks soft... but I know it's not le mode du jour.


Thanks a lot for your time, and again, a very warm welcome to becoming a non-lurker-member of the community!! thumbsup

[entropy]

Mix sounds pretty balanced IMO. Kick sounds fine - personally I would have had a little more attack in it but that's just me.

My main suggestion would be editing the arrangement.... half the length of the breakdown (around 2.10) and come back into the main body w/ snare (4 min).

I'd also look at having a variation with the vocal.... the pan thing that's going on works but I do tire from it. Maybe just automating the effect a little to get some variation....

just my 5cents

[ignatius]

i like the sub/kick. wouldn't change it. the vocal is a cool but as said maybe needs some thinning out here and there or some variation (filter it out let the panning bounce around a bit more or just change the panning up a bit). also, that part around 2:12 where there's a little break.. the vocal part that comes in sounds off.. or out of tune or something. just pokes out too much.

i don't like that side stick/snare at all. it sounds out of place and too loud. it just sounds wrong to me. if you are set on adding something more to the beat at that point i would add a filtered clap but buried a bit more in the mix and if it needs a little 'more' then layer an analog snare with it. just fool w/the pitches until they make sense together.

i like the trimmed down vibe of the track and it has a heady thing going on where it borders on being drugged out. tracks like this that are kind of anchored w/a solid bass and some simple percussion/hats have a nice way of changing up a DJ set in a club and often provide some space in a set. i think subtlety is something that gets lost on a lot of producers these days and people on a dance floor appreciate a track that isn't pounding them over the head w/a bunch of cheesy leads. there is something to be said for a 'deeper' sound.

just my 2 cents.

[gizeh12]

I agree with ignatius. Nice kick maybe leave it. Better to focuse on music because you can use a little more intertwining of ideas.

[keybdwizrd]

It's this cool sounding thing, but honestly it doesn't take me anywhere. It takes me to this place and then we sit there for seven minutes. And it just "is."

[api2500]

Originally Posted by Simonator

If anyone cares to hear the original, it auto-plays on this website:

Joy_Rose_Home_Page

... It's a solo project from one of the vocalists of Jazz-funk band Incognito

THANK YOU FOR THE WARNING!!!!

I hate Auto-Play.... Didn't even bother listening to it through.... I HATE AUTO-PLAYS with a passion.

Like the track though as it's own entity. Really nice.

Originally Posted by keybdwizrd

It's this cool sounding thing, but honestly it doesn't take me anywhere. It takes me to this place and then we sit there for seven minutes. And it just "is."

Hello, and welcome to sub-genre House, please make your self at home. You must be new to these parts.

[AJ Reynolds]

yeah the sustained strings is what i'm talking about. listen to some Rick Wade for some inspiration.
the kick sounds good and well balanced in the mix.
snare didn't work for me when i first heard it but it grew on me. so that probably wouldn't work on the dancefloor.
i think ignatius knows what he's talking about.

[Tarkovsky]

Simon... sorry would've replied last night but couldn't give it a listen on the system.

Liking the track very much. REALLY good mix. Lovely and smooth... best I've heard from you. Liking the arrangement too. I'm not so sure about the chord. IMO... and this is probably because of all the dub techno I've listening to, it should be further set back in the mix and closer to a dubby stab with less decay but more verb. I guess that's just taste though! It works nicely but it might make it less repetitive. Really liking the gentle addition of more ryhtym parts. I might say they could come in more quickly. The track could do with a few spots parts/effects for interests... maybe some spoken word samples... all to achieve a bit of variation.

I might also have the drums emerge a bit more from the mix later in so as the track gets progressively more and more rhythmic and slightly less soft. But this is really nice work, you've certainly got a nice vibe going on.

I guess I wouldn't quite play it out cause it's too chilled, unless I was playing quite early, but if the drums got a bit harder and snappier... maybe something resembling a ukfunky type rhythm on the clap. With that I think it would be chilled but still have a little push... however that may ruin the 'chillthe****out' vibe.
Anyway the mix is really good. The arrangement might do with a more rhytmic section with less melody at a mid point for easy mixing... but it's really pretty good and serves the track as a deep n smooth chillfest.

Hope your well.
Zak

[artech909]

You need to change your Snare/Rim sample for clap (you can mix 808 clap & live clap for example) for transitions you can use some dub delay on these claps.

[Simonator]

Thanks for the comments guys!

Today I've done the Xaxau trick on my kick & deleted the filter from it... so it's popping through much more, yet with no loss of weight or headroom.

Currently trying to work a 909 style clap into the track in place of the rim.


will address the other issues next :-)

[Frankie Soukal]

Originally Posted by Simonator

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Already there is a HUGE amount of sidechain ducking on the rhodes.

... There isn't a pad in the track, so not sure what you are hearing there?... only rhodes & vox.
I suspect it's the noise off the rhodes, which I HEAVILY f***ed with... again, that's already sidechained.

Also a pretty fair amount of sidechain comp applied to the tambourines & high percs (except the off-beat hats... which seems a little pointless to SC off the kick.).



I will take a look at letting that kick pop some more since both you & methlab seem to agree on this.
I've currently got a 6dB/oct low pass shelf from 6668Hz... so most likely just disabling this will help the kick pop through a little more whilst not taking up much headroom at all.
I guess somehow I like my kicks soft... but I know it's not le mode du jour.


Thanks a lot for your time, and again, a very warm welcome to becoming a non-lurker-member of the community!! thumbsup

Rhodes, pad, w/e. lol. Was talkin bout that. Guess I have to listen to it again cuz I didnt hear alot of SC. I listened on my studio monitors last night. Need sort top end on that kick. Bass line or hits are solid, like those too. Re-arrange the track a bit like I said, it will be a nice deep house track for sure

haha, thanks for the welcome. Non Lurker?

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Frankie Soukal

Rhodes, pad, w/e. lol.

... just you mentioned both 'rhodes' AND 'pad' separately... so I thought you were talking about two different elements. My bad.

I resampled a chord I created & deliberately left lots of noise in it... now it's been pitched down an octave it's created all this mad dirty high-end... so it does almost sound like a separate element!

Originally Posted by Frankie Soukal

Need sort top end on that kick. Bass line or hits are solid, like those too. Re-arrange the track a bit like I said, it will be a nice deep house track for sure

I updated the mix today... far from finished, but just to reflect some rough changes I made today.

Unfortunately, I seem to have spent an entire DAY trying to get a clap to sit in the mix still haven't yet got it sounding good.


I HAVE however got the kick smacking considerably more I feel... do you think it's there yet. I'm pretty happy with it now, and glad I made the changes at the suggestion of yourself & others.


I cut a load out of the arrangement, and literally spent 10 minutes botching a high string over the track. VERY rough... but will get there in a few more days.
Think I might start the arrangement again from scratch.

Originally Posted by Frankie Soukal

haha, thanks for the welcome. Non Lurker?

A lurker= someone who regularly comes to this site & reads the forums... but without having created an account (as I think you said you'd been doing.)... So I was basically saying welcome to being a fully paid up member of the geek fraternity! Your music is really good, so I'm sure your advice will be much appreciated here thumbsup

[Frankie Soukal]

Originally Posted by Simonator

.
A lurker= someone who regularly comes to this site & reads the forums... but without having created an account (as I think you said you'd been doing.)... So I was basically saying welcome to being a fully paid up member of the geek fraternity! Your music is really good, so I'm sure your advice will be much appreciated here thumbsup

Means alot my man. Thanks. Excited to hear that finished product

[Tarkovsky]

That sub is awesome! How is it done!?! Really makes the track kick right out. Gives it that push I said it was lacking.... mmm!

Violins sounding cool. Might layer a slightly more harmonic note just under that dissonant one.

s that sidechained tape noise I hear?!

Clap is REALLY nice and upfront.


It's sounding absolutely awesome IMO. You'll have to PM a copy!

Arrangement is really strong now. Your best work yet! Really damn decent. I think you... somehow... managed to get this to work in every way that I thought it might be lacking before.

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky

That sub is awesome! How is it done!?! Really makes the track kick right out. Gives it that push I said it was lacking.... mmm!

Haven't done anything different to that sub hit from the first version I posted.

I already answered this same question in the PM you sent me, but since you've asked it here I'll copy the response here:

Ha; It was actually inspired by comments you made a week or two ago... but I'm not even sure I understood correctly!
It's pretty simple...

I've got a pure 1 osc sine wave

Midi note plays a C1 (which at 32.70 Hz is about the deepest usable freq... and C is a 'third' to my track's root note of A... so it works harmonically.)

But then a mod envelope makes the sound trigger 9 semitones higher (on A... my root note.) and rapidly drop to the C.

ZERO processing, straight to my output channel.

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky

Violins sounding cool. Might layer a slightly more harmonic note just under that dissonant one.

Ha... I did the strings LITERALLY in 10 mins... all the sound production AND writing/performance... dashed it into this mix before going out to DJ tonight... having spent ALL DAY on the damned clap!!

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky

Clap is REALLY nice and upfront.

I think it sounds like a ****** having a **** on a ****

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky

s that sidechained tape noise I hear?!

Not directly.

There is noise in the background, but not sidechained.

I recorded noise into the resampled chord... which is sidechained, so that's what you are hearing.

Originally Posted by Tarkovsky

It's sounding absolutely awesome IMO. You'll have to PM a copy!

Arrangement is really strong now. Your best work yet! Really damn decent. I think you... somehow... managed to get this to work in every way that I thought it might be lacking before.

Hmmm. I'm not happy with it at all yet.

Think I'm going to start the arrangement from scratch. Another few days work needed me thinks.

But cheers for the moral support. I'll send you a copy if ever it gets finished!!

[Odey]

I like the kick.. sounds great.

I think that your build up is too long. Bring your claps/snares in much earlier and then have a big breakdown in the middle... I'm not saying you should lose the vocal development etc.. but just that it can happen much quicker.. have the track kick in... break it down.. and then kick it back in. As it builds towards the end add another instrument it will be much more dramatic but still have all the chilled elements it needs. It seems to me like there are a series of build ups for the first 3 minutes that don't lead to anything except another build up.

From a mix point of view I think it sounds good.. A good mastering engineer can help you out a lot here because he will make sure that the kick and overall sound translates well onto different monitoring systems.

The only mix thing that bothered me was the wood percussion at the beginning was too loud.. It sounds fine once the other instruments kick in though.

And there does seem to be quite a hissy instrument in there at about 2 mins in. I'm sure your average listener wouldn't notice but it did stick out for me.

I like it though. I think it sounds good but arrangement needs some work. But there again.. thats how I would arrange the track.. everybody sees things in a different way!

[Odey]

Sorry.. just something else to add...A good mastering engineer will only cost around £50-75 pounds per track in todays market.. so its a no brainer for me. Anything I release will be going for a proper mastering session.. and the difference in the right hands can be huge.